This photo taken on September 21, 2024 shows Masanori Murakami, the first Japanese player to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the US, looking at a collection of memorabilia - including a photo of himself (C-in photo) with teammate and Hall of Famer Willie Mays (L-in photo) - before an interview with AFP in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture, south of Tokyo. Shohei Ohtani last week made Major League Baseball history but it was Masanori Murakami who laid the groundwork 60 years ago when he became the first Japanese player in MLB. Now 80 and with a twinkle in his eye, Murakami says Ohtani is a "model" baseball player and the perfect ambassador for Japan. (Photo by Richard A. Brooks / AFP) / TO GO WITH: baseball-JPN-MLB-Murakami-OhtaniI, INTERVIEW by Andrew MCKIRDY (Photo by RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)